As the car slowed to a stop outside the apartment building, Olivia shrugged her shoulders a bit, trying to wake Mia, who was fast asleep on her shoulder. Mia's eyes fluttered open briefly before closing again.
"We're here. We need to get out of the car," Olivia said softly, but Mia only mumbled and nodded. Rolling her eyes, Olivia wrapped Mia's arm around her shoulder to help her out.
Just as Olivia was about to climb out, the rear door of the car suddenly opened. Their driver stood there, holding it open and watching as Olivia struggled to balance Mia's weight.
With Mia leaning heavily against her shoulder, wobbling like someone who had one drink too many, Olivia was already thinking about the next challenge: carrying her friend up to their third-floor apartment. The building didn't have an elevator, so stairs were her only option. Great, she thought.
The driver seemed to notice her predicament. "Do you need a hand, ma'am?"
She glanced over at him. He was wearing a uniform, but the logo on his organization's protective suit was covered by something like a military patch. Must be a cover-up, she thought. They probably don't want people knowing about their organization.
Seeing her hesitating, the driver offered again. "Are you sure, ma'am? I could help."
"No, it's okay. Our room's just upstairs. I've got this," Olivia said, forcing a smile. As much as she could use the help, she couldn't have this SWAT-like figure trailing her into the building. The neighbors would definitely think they'd gotten themselves mixed up in some shady business.
And beyond that, she didn't want anyone from that organization stepping foot inside. Who knew what they might plant there—hidden mics, cameras, anything.
"Thanks for the ride," she added, nodding at him before turning toward the apartment entrance. She adjusted Mia onto her back in a piggyback position and started toward the gate.
Inside, the building was quiet, and the hallways were empty—a relief. She didn't want to bump into any neighbors who might ask what they'd been up to so late. She took a deep breath and began climbing the stairs, but each step felt heavier than the last. All those fights, running around the cemetery activating the barriers… Her muscles were burning, and Mia's weight wasn't helping.
"Damn, Mia, you're getting heavier these days," she muttered, adjusting her grip. Mia just grumbled in her sleep, as if offended, and Olivia chuckled before continuing the climb.
By the time she reached the third floor, she was panting, her forehead damp with sweat. She leaned against the stair railing, taking a moment to catch her breath. Almost there. She pushed herself onward, walking down the hallway to their room.
Fumbling in her pocket, Olivia found her key—the only thing left unscathed after last night's chaos. Everything else, from her phone to the things in Mia's bag, had been wrecked or torn to shreds. She inserted the key, twisting it until she heard the lock click.
But just as she reached for the doorknob, the door to the room next to theirs opened. Olivia tried to open her own door faster, hoping to avoid her neighbor, but it resisted, almost as if it had its own thoughts.
She muttered under her breath, "Damn this cheap apartment… when are they gonna fix this goddamn door?" She eyed the rusted doorknob, which looked like it hadn't been changed since the building was built.
"Oh, hey there, Oli. Good morning!" came a voice from behind her. Olivia sighed, recognizing Jennifer, their next-door neighbor, who was around her age and had been living next to them for a while.
"Morning, Jen," Olivia replied, trying to keep her voice steady.
Jennifer looked at her with a raised brow. "Only 'morning'? Looks like there's no 'good' in your morning, huh?"
Olivia forced a smile. "Yeah… not much 'good' in it."
Jennifer's eyes shifted to Mia, still on Olivia's back. "Looks like someone had a fun night. What, you emptied all the fun out of the night? Why didn't you bring me with you? We haven't hung out in ages!"
Olivia snorted inwardly at the irony. If fun meant fighting monsters and demons, she thought, then yeah, we had plenty of it. But Miss Price's words echoed in her mind: What happened last night stays in the cemetery.
"We weren't really… out having fun," Olivia said, choosing her words carefully. "We were doing a job. Cleaning stuff… at the cemetery."
Jennifer blinked. "Cleaning… stuff? In the cemetery? Like scrubbing dirt off graves? And… in the middle of the night?"
Olivia nodded, hiding her real thoughts. And fighting monsters, she thought, but she kept her face neutral.
Jennifer looked baffled. "That must have been some job to keep you out all night. I mean, who in their right mind takes a grave-cleaning job in the dead of night?"
Olivia shrugged, giving her a playful smirk. "So, you're saying we're insane?"
Jennifer laughed. "Come on, Oli, you know I'm just messing with you. But still, cleaning a cemetery at midnight? That's more than a little strange. I mean, why not do it during the day?"
"Well, the job is… unique," Olivia said with a grin, inwardly thinking, And we were 'cleaning' a lot more than just graves.
Jennifer's eyes shifted to Mia, still on Olivia's back. "Looks like the cleaning work must be pretty heavy since it knocked Mia out."
Olivia glanced at her friend, snoring softly on her shoulder, and smirked. "Indeed, it is pretty heavy." She didn't just mean the grave-cleaning work from last night but was also making a subtle jab at Mia's weight on her back.
Jennifer seemed to catch the joke and laughed a little. "Well, I won't keep you for long since you guys had a long night. I was just on my way to throw these out." She lifted the garbage bags she was holding.
Olivia gave her a nod. "Thanks, Jen. I'm probably gonna get some zzz."
Jennifer smiled knowingly. "Good night, Oli."
With a friendly wave, Jennifer headed downstairs, and Olivia sighed in relief as she finally unlocked and slipped through the door, she closed the door behind her, letting the quiet of the apartment surround her.
It had been a long night, and they'd survived—barely. She was grateful for the chance to just breathe. And now, all she needed was rest.